佛說沙曷比丘功德經
Sutra on the Merits of the Bhikshu Shahe
西晉沙門法炬譯
聞如是：
一時佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園，時與千二百五十比丘、菩薩萬人。時須耶國有貧人，行賃剃小兒頭，所剃者皆約：「到麥熟，當各雇麥一斛。」適別未遠，道逢故人，將其還。求麥，欲以取酒飲之。遍求，無以麥還者。於是便起恚意言：「願我壽終後，作大神龍，當陷此國。」後壽終，魂神遂還作龍，其國中歷年風雨不時，五穀毀敗。
Thus I have heard: At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove, in the Garden of the Benefactor of the Orphaned and the Alone, near the city of Śrāvastī. At that time, there were one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus, along with ten thousand bodhisattvas, gathered with him.
At that time, in the country of Suyā, there was a poor man who earned his living by shaving children's heads. With each child he shaved, he made an agreement: "When the wheat ripens, you are to pay me one hu of wheat for each service." Not long after parting from them, he met an old friend on the road and brought him home. He sought wheat everywhere, wanting to exchange it for wine to drink with his friend. But when he searched far and wide, he found no one who could repay the wheat.
At this, resentment arose in his mind, and he made a vow: "May I, after my life ends, be reborn as a great dragon, and may I swallow up this entire country!"
Later, when his life came to an end, his consciousness indeed returned to become a dragon. From that time on, the country suffered from unseasonable winds and rains year after year, and the five grains were ruined and destroyed.
佛念此國人民飢饉，即遣沙曷比丘往化之。龍見比丘往，即興惡意，欲敗國及殺沙曷比丘。沙曷便變化鉢，覆蓋一國。龍雨之，謂國已沒。比丘以佛威神，令龍見人民安隱如故。龍復興恚意下雪，比丘以鉢受之。雪極，比丘以手掃之，著一處如山。比丘乃入龍室，龍即出，比丘復出；龍入，比丘復入。如是若干輩，龍極乃止，長跪問言：「卿何等神，惱我如此？」比丘言：「吾是佛弟子。」龍言：「我欲自歸於卿。」比丘答言：「吾有大師，佛三界最尊，卿當自歸之。」龍言：「佛在何所？」報言：「佛在舍衛國。」龍言：「乞逐道人去。」比丘言：「欲去者善！」便內龍著笥中。
The Buddha saw that the people of that land were suffering from famine, so he sent the monk Shaka to go and teach them. When the dragon saw the monk coming, it harbored evil intentions, wanting to ruin the country and kill the monk Shaka. Shaka then used his transformative powers to turn his alms bowl into a canopy that covered the entire land. The dragon sent down rain, thinking the land had been flooded. But through the Buddha's spiritual power, the monk made the dragon see that the people were safe and peaceful as before.
The dragon grew angry again and sent down snow, but the monk caught it all in his bowl. When the snow piled up high, the monk swept it away with his hand, piling it up in one spot like a mountain. Then the monk entered the dragon's chamber, and the dragon came out, only to have the monk come out too; the dragon went back in, and the monk followed. This happened several times, until the dragon was exhausted and stopped, kneeling down to ask: "What kind of spirit are you, to torment me like this?"
The monk replied: "I am a disciple of the Buddha." The dragon said: "I wish to take refuge with you." The monk answered: "I have a great teacher—the Buddha, the most honored in all the three realms. You should take refuge with him." The dragon asked: "Where is the Buddha?" The monk replied: "He is in the land of Shravasti." The dragon said: "Please, let me follow you there." The monk said: "If you wish to come, so be it!" And with that, he placed the dragon inside his bamboo basket and carried him along.
人民見比丘取龍如是，皆歡喜問言：「道人是何等大神，降伏國患？」告言：「吾是佛弟子。」人民問言：「佛可得見不？」答言：「欲得見佛，且待吾還。」時日向中，道遇分衛，人民或與飯者、與酒者，比丘受而食飲之，致酒醉，遇樹下臥，龍鉢、袈裟各在一處。
佛時笑，五色光出，阿難正衣服，叉手白佛言：「佛不妄笑，笑必有意！」佛告阿難：「汝為見沙曷比丘不？」阿難言：「不見。」佛言：「今在彼樹下醉臥。」
時千二百五十比丘、菩薩萬人，各相與語言：「沙曷比丘已得阿羅漢，何以復醉臥？」佛知諸人意有疑，因說四事：「一者，阿羅漢不三昧不得知；二者，不得便現神足；三者，不得強勸人分衛；四者，身中尚有蟲。阿羅漢以是四事不及佛。」時萬菩薩皆迴意欲向羅漢。
佛遣目犍連往到沙曷比丘所，勅之攝龍來。龍以頭面為佛作禮，佛便為說宿命本末，龍心即解，受五戒，奉行十善，即得須陀洹道，為佛作禮而去。
佛時說沙曷比丘功德微妙。阿難叉手啟佛言：「沙曷比丘飲酒醉臥，而佛說其功德微妙乃爾？」
佛告阿難：「阿羅漢不復飢渴，用三事故，現醉臥耳：一者，佛欲開化菩薩意；二者，不欲逆布施家意；三者，恐諸弟子未得道者，飲酒多失故。以此至戒撿之，沙曷比丘雖飲酒，是為不醉。」諸菩薩、四輩弟子，聞佛說是，皆起整衣服，為佛作禮。
沙曷比丘更前長跪白佛言：「須耶越國王、人民欲見。」佛默然受之。沙曷比丘即承佛教，如彈指頃，還到須耶越國。國王、人民見比丘，皆歡喜，有作禮者、有跪者、但叉手者。沙曷比丘告言：「佛明日當來到。」此王聞佛當來，大歡喜豫，於四衢道掃灑，廣施帳幔。
佛明日與千二百五十比丘俱，豫行空中，皆有自然蓮華，奉佛足下。王及臣民，皆以華香，出城迎佛，五體投地，稽首為禮。佛及比丘到宮即有自然師子座，布以綩綖，七寶華蓋，五色交絡，王施設供養，手自斟酌。飯畢，行盥水，祝願。佛為王及人民說龍本末，王與人民心解，即受五戒，行十善，或得須陀洹者、斯陀含、阿那含、阿羅漢者，不可稱數。
佛說經竟，四輩弟子、天龍鬼神，歡喜奉行。
佛說沙曷比丘功德經